Jonathan and Erik

Visited in the last month. Hopefully soon I’ll have my Nagasaki tour refined and perfected into a compact 2 days. Pictures courtesy of Erik. (I think Jonathan took all the pictures when he was here and I don’t have access to them!)

Nagasaki Harbour at Night

These small streets are where all the nightlife happens.

That is a dead snake in the liquor bottle

This is Oura Cathedral. It is 150 odd years old and the only Western-built building considered a National Heritage Site.

Our trip out to Iojima Island. It is like taking a vacation without even having to leave Nagasaki. If Erik hadn’t had too much snake-liquor we might even have gone to the hot springs for a nice bath. Also pictured are Mitsubishi’s dry docks where they make large oil tankers and the like.

The island's beach and some of the cliffs that surround the island.

This is the Peace Park. The statue is pointing towards the area where the atomic bomb had exploded.

From the Peace Park you can see Urakami Cathedral. Once the largest in Asia, it had to be rebuilt after the bombing.

Spectacle bridge. The water was a bit too low to get a perfect reflection and see the spectacles. Also pictured is me inspecting Koi.

I really enjoy the blend of Western Catholicism with Japanese characteristics. Here is a crucifix and bust of the Pope in a Japanese garden and Koi pond.

My City.

We were told this was castella-flavored ice cream. Castella is Nagasaki’s regional specialty. If you don’t consume it, it will consume you.

I do have a picture of Jonathan!Helen Keller’s signature. Jonathan and I happened upon it at a tiny museum.

Graduation

Graduation was on April 1st. There wasn’t nearly as much build up at my school as I would have expected. Many of the seniors were studying up until the last minute and the vast majority didn’t even know if they were accepted into college yet. I was most surprised at how seriously the event was treated. There were few smiles during the ceremony and certainly none of the shouting or cowbells that I remember from my graduation.

Sadly I didn’t know the 3rd year students nearly as well as I know the 1st years. This has come back to haunt me recently as we were on vacation recently and many students came home to Nagasaki for their vacation. Inevitably a few of the 320 ex-students would bump into me at the park, on the train, or out shopping and instantly shout “Daniel-Sensei” while I searched my memory to try and place a name and age on the face.

Spoiled Eggs

I had my students make some Easter Eggs back in March, here is what I was presented with.

Good Morning

And Happy Mother's Day.

Nagasaki Lantern Festival

Here are some pictures from the Nagasaki Lantern Festival.  The event lasted for the last two weeks of February and ensured that I was enjoying myself despite the lingering cold.  Anyway, sorry the pictures are late!  I stole a few from friends and will be sure to have a new camera (not just my phone) when the event comes around next year.